Connect More

Like all patriotic Americans, we know that the only proper way to celebrate the achievements of our great nation is to blow crap up with fireworks. Our tales of fire, scary explosions, PTSD, and close calls are the true story of our country. We got a very thought-provoking Listener Mail voice memo from Emily asking about our celebrity nemeses. Who makes our blood boil every time they show up on th...

We lead pretty charmed lives, but we all have a bad day every once in a while, right? We tried to talk about some of our bad experiences, but turns out we're bad at talking about bad stuff. Starting to get the hint? Don't worry. This is a shortie so it will be over before you have to get up and flip the 45 over onto Side B. Let's roll!

Are you ready for the summer? The Connect More crew sure is! Concerts, baseball, and unpacking boxes are all in the works, but be sure you don't miss the excitement of a high-adventure camping trip in Oklahoma! You heard me. Oklahoma. Who doesn't love a good sand candle, amirite? In this age of streaming, with every song ever made instantly at our fingertips, what bands are we just now dis...

For this (not so) shortie episode we got a Listener Mail voice memo from Amanda (who needs to contribute to the swear jar BTW). She asked for the story behind how we all met and became best buddies. How did we crack the code and figure out how friends can stay connected over distance and time? It was a blast reminiscing about the early days of our friendship and hopefully we can provide some inspi...

After the tone, we leave some messages about how voicemail fits into our day-to-day communications. Spoiler alert: We hate it. Don't leave your name and number. Just send a text. We've been pushed to the edge, cocked and ready. 😏 We were eight years old when Star Wars premiered in 1977, the perfect age to become super-fans for life. The toys, the t-shirts, the posters, the branded school supplies...

Our PRUducer can't get enough of our great ideas & advice, so she lobs us another question: "If you could make anything into law, what would it be?" We've got a lot of beefs and plenty of ideas to make things right. Speed limits, pepper shakers, fast food etiquette, and social media vague-posting all get some attention. Remember that one time when Jocó ran for LTGOV? He was &...

Summer is upon us. What are the Connect More boys doing besides listening to the corn grow? Sounds like baseball, beers, gardening, farmer's market, and jogging in the woods are all in the works. Put on your shades and join the fun! We got a fantastic Listener Mail voice note from Becky! She's a huge Saturday Night Live fan and wanted to hear about our favorite sketches and characters. Fro...

Because she can't get enough of our timeless wisdom, our producer occasionally lobs us a question. This week she asks, "We need more days off work. If you could create a federal holiday, what would it be? " We're always looking for an excuse to escape work, so we come up with some pretty good ideas. Some of these holidays would even encourage people to (gasp!) connect more with their loved ones! D...

Steven Colbert's Late Show ends tomorrow. Seeing David Letterman on his show last week chucking chairs from the rooftop of the Ed Sullivan Theater was a crashing tidal wave of nostalgia, so we felt like we needed a session to connect and commiserate about the ending of an era. We hopped on a live stream and speculated about the future of late night TV, snacked on some Almost Famous popcorn, la...

Things get 'moving' quickly as we commiserate with Jocó about packing & hauling while he relocates to a new city after living in the same house for 25 years. It's never fun, but at least the rest of us don't have to help him! The Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame recently announced its new inductees...and we call bullsh!t. It's like they're not even trying. The bar seems to...

In this shortie episode, our PRUducer asks: "Gravity is no longer a force acting on Earth. What is the first thing you do?" We channel our inner "Wicked" and talk about Defying Gravity. From feats of strength to sports prowess, we dream about flying through the air with the greatest of ease. This is a quick listen. It will be over before that M&M you dropped on the floor gets disqualified by t...

Early May has always been a hallowed time for the Connect More boys because it's a season of celebration. First it was Ruben's legendary Mother's Day parties (all you muthas show up) and later the epic Cinco de Mayo fiestas featuring live music from Iowa's best bands (Dave Zollo, Matt Woods), costumes, margaritas, and a zillion laughs. Come join the fun! We have a lively discussion...

Hoo, boy. Guaranteed our PRUducer didn't see this hot mess coming when she asked us: "What is the worst fruit of all time?" You might say to yourself, "That seems like an innocent question. What could go wrong?" Take a listen to this shortie and you'll find out. Thankfully it's pretty brief. You'll be done listening before John picks all the seeds out of his kiw...

In Iowa we have lots of weird brags. Stand out on the porch to watch a tornado passing by. Grow the biggest zucchini. And who has hit the most deer with our cars. Several of the boys have mostly avoided this calamity, but it's certainly a terrifying and expensive right of passage. True to our GenX sensibilities, we have an affinity for actually going to the theater to see movies, even in the s...

Get ready for some zany game show action! Your Connect More hosts team up and go head-to-head with questions from our PRUducer about Gen Z and Gen Alpha slang words! Jocó and Jax on Team East Coast face off against Hedge & Ween on Team Mid. Who's got the rizz? Who are the the cheugy chodes who don't know a sigma from a chungus? It gets skibidi pretty quickly for these uncs, so tune in...

Sometimes we've got a lot to say so we need to hop on a LIVE FEED and get some stuff off our chests. March Madness just wrapped up and Joco announces who won the Connect More bracket! We also got caught up on the Artemis II journey around the moon, figured out that WWIII didn't start tonight, and plan our next get-together where we'll try some of the Mexican candy that Ween brought bac...

We kick things off with a great question from loyal listener Kehly...or Kelly? Keely? Kaylee? Something like that. She asks which one of us would survive the longest on a reality show. Let the treason, treachery, and scheming begin! Now that spring is here, we're dreaming about hitting the highway for a big road trip. What are the boys planning, and could they ever get their act together to do...

Sometimes we've got a lot to say so we need to hop on a LIVE FEED and get some stuff off our chests. The big topic tonight was the Artemis II launch, plus some basketball, a brief movie review for "Project Hail Mary," Ruben's ongoing battle with skunks, and just a bit of pro wrestling.

We are perpetually puzzled about most things in our daily lives, so this question from our PRUducer was quite fitting: "Do you like puzzles? What's your favorite brain-teaser you use to pass the time?" We don't get any prep from her about what she's asking, but that didn't stop us from going deep on our favorites, from Wordle to logic puzzle books to Sudoku. Think you can solve the NYT Connections...

We FINALLY got some Listener Mail - a voice memo from our Mexican candy-pusher, Krickett! We get some good background about the candy choices and Ruben gets called out on his B.S. about not liking the candy! As Tolstoy said in Anna Karenina , "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." We peel back the layers on our weird families and expose some of the...

FYSA: We deal with a LOT of emails every day, so when our producer asked us how we sign off on emails we had a very, very lively discussion. We've got a lot of email pet peeves and you'll hear about all of them. Thank you for your attention to this matter. This is a quick episode. You'll be finished before you figure out if you should sign off with "Best" or "Sincerely y...

Spring is right around the corner, and the boys are dreaming about their next adventures, including a bit of travel, odd jobs around the house, and getting packed up for a big move. Grab your joysticks because we're dusting off our old hand-held video games and vintage gaming consoles to figure out if they're still fun or not. From the old Mattel football games to the Commodore 64 and Pong...

Every so often our producer ambushes us with a question we haven't heard before because she just can't get enough of our witty banter!! 😂 This week she asks us about our best (worst?) travels stories. From terrorists on the tarmac to lost plushies, we've seen it all. Let's hear about your travel disasters, too. Leave us a comment on Spotify, Facebook , Instagram , or YouTube . Hav...

As we recorded this episode winter was still grinding on with bitter cold and howling winds, so we spent a few minutes dreaming about spring and identifying signs that mark the change of seasons. We did a shortie episode a while ago in which we recalled our favorite childhood candy. Our sweet memories inspired Ruben's niece Krickett to give Jocó some of Mexican candy while he was recently in S...

Because she just can't get enough of us, our producer occasionally throws us a question that we haven't heard 'til we sit down to record, so there's basically no prep. This week: If you could choose any fictional fantasy land to live in, where would you pick and why? We love our sci-fi and fantasy shows, so we jumped right in on this one. Except for Ween. He had to work pretty hard...